Some medical writers choose to write book chapters or even edit or write a book of their own. Writing a book chapter is a lot like writing a review article, except that it generally requires an invitation from a book editor who will assign the topic and perhaps specify the approach desired. Editing a book of submitted chapters is daunting task, involving careful planning, author recruitment and nurturing, and pulling things together in the end. Writing your own book can be the most fun of all, but it requires finding a compelling topic, selling your idea to an editor, and completing the task somewhere near the deadline. In the end, your chapter or book should be something you would like to read.
The real point about writing books is that, like mountains, they are there. Some of us cannot resist the challenge; but it’s hardly rational behavior.
Alpert T. The A–Z of Medical Writing [1]
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